Safety gage-glass.



G. ERNST.

SAFETY GAGE GLASS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16. 1911.

1,289,709, Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

WITNESSES MENTOR 26 B orgefinsf y 1 I ATTORNEYS i all whom it may concern:

GEORGE ERNST, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY GAGE-GLASS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 16, 1917. Serial No. 202,371.

.Be it known that I, GEORGE ERNs'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey. have invented a new and Improved. Safety Gage-Glass, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

This invention relates to gage glasses. for

steam boilers or other analogous machines and has particular reference to-certain specific details referred to hereinafter. Among the objects of the invention is to provide a novel form or type of shield serving to so surround the glass proper as to make it practical. impossibility for particles of glassfto fly and endanger any person the vicinity in theevent of fracture of theglass. i I

Another obj ect of-the invention is to proyide. a mask or protector for the glass tube of anature such that it may :be rotated around the vertical axis of the glass when desired to give .more direct access to the glass.

Another object of the invention is to provide. an improved automatic. shut-off or closure for the upper port.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the. invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and'claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my imvprovement.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same on the line 2&2.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of the uppe head and portions attached thereto, the upper nipple being in section to show the operation of the safety closure device in the event of fracture of the glass.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings I show my improvement as comprising an upper and a lower head 10 and 11, each being in the nature of a socket piece or cup having a central hole 12, through or into which the adjacent end of the tube 13 is adapted to project, Each of the heads 1neludes. a packing gasket 14 of any suitable compressible material adapted to make tight connection with the glass under the force of a coupling plug or nipple shown as having threaded engagement with the inner surface of each head. The upper nipple is Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

indicated at 15 and the lower nipple at 16.

Each nipple in addition to the threaded plug .17 cooperating directlv with the .gasket 14 is recessed centrally of said plug at 18 to loosely receive the extreme end of the gage glass. As usual each nipple is provided with a central bore in alinement with the longitudinal center of the glass. The bore 19 for. the nipple 15 is enlar ed at 20 form ing a pocket. for a safety .ball 21 which lies normally upon a conical shoulder 22 surrounding the'upper end of the bore 19 and at one side of the port leading to the ,bore. During the ordinary operation of the gage theball 21 offers no obstruction to the port, but in the event of fractureof the glass any outflow .of fluid such as steam or water from the nipple 15 will cause the immediate setting of the ball upon the port and soclose the bore 19. The ball will thus remain in place closing the port until a new glass is inserted, and preliminary to such action the operator will unseat the ball by the use of a wire or the like projected up through the bore 19.

At the back of the glass 13 is a rigid connector or back 23 between the heads 10 and 11. This member may be of any desired form or construction, but preferably it is indicated as in the nature of an angle bar the apex of which is arranged in the vertical central plane passing through the center of the tube and dividing the device into two equal right and left parts. As shown best in Fig. 3 this back 23 is spaced r'earwardly from the glass 13 and approximately half surrounds the glass. In other words the front half of the glass is open for clear view from either side and all of the glass is in view from the front. Any suitable means may be provided. to secure the upper and lower ends of the angle member 23 to the heads 10 and 11. and as a practical and convenient means for accomplishing this purpose I provide each of the heads with a semicircular lip 24 projecting toward the other. Each of these lips 24: is approximately semicircular in cross section and is located concentric with the tube 13 and spaced slightly therefrom, A series of screws 25 are pro? jected through the angle member 23 and'are tapped into each lip 24:. The screws of each series are arranged at oblique angles each to the next and so constitute a very stiff rigid g connection between the angle member and, the lips. Since the'lips are formed as intement, namely, the safety guard for the front of the glass. This guard comprises. a sheet of transparent material 26 such as mica, celluloid or any other analogous tough and relatively unbreakable material. This sheet is bent into semicylindrical form and is connected at its upper and lower ends in any suitable manner to circular hoops 27 which loosely surround the respective heads 10 and 11. The vertical side edges also are preferably reinforced with metal strips 28' which make strong connections between the upper and lower hoops. As an auxiliary protector or reinforcement I employ also a-reticulate'd covering 29 for the outer surface of the transparent sheet 26. This outer member 29 is formed preferably of a piece of Wire gauze or the like so asrto make it practically impossible for'any fragments of glass to fly upper and lowerends and side edges of the reticulated member 29 also are permanently l secured "into the rigid hoop and side reinforcement members. The device just referred to constitutes what may be called a rotary cage mounted .forfree movement around the gage glass so that the protector portion of the cage will normally lie spaced I copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Barents;

for'wardly'from the open and otherwise unprotected surface of the glass. As a suitable means to support the cage I provide a pair.

of lugs or brackets 30 which are rigidly connectedto the upper front corners of the member 23. wardly. from the member 23 far enough to make a substantial support for the upper hoop 27 and yet provide a free'support so These brackets project outtube.

that the cage may rotate around the vertical axis of the glass, said upper hoop bearing for this purpose upon the outer ends of the brackets. It thus follows that the cage may.

be rotated through a half rotation and expose the glass without any obstruction whatever when such expedient is desired as'for close inspection, repair or the like.

The operation of the glass .so far as the contents of .the boiler are concerned is well known and need not'be described. I would point out, however, in this connection that the vertical back 23 constitutes aconvenient medium .forthe application of a color stripe 31 which lies just back of the center of the glass andwhichis magnifiedby the column of water so as tointensify the indication of thewater level as indicated at 31". A gageglass madein accordance with this. invention is unusually strong, rig d andsafe, and yet is so simply constructed as tobe relatively inexpensive. I v r I Iclaim; a V 1 In a gage glass of the character set forth, the combination of upper and lower heads, a transparent tube fitted tightly at its ends in said heads,;each head having an integral member projecting toward the other and partially surrounding the tube, a rigid back member.V-shaped in cross section extending from one head to the other, and a .plurality of screws arranged atangles to t one another and passing through the ends andinjure the face of any workman. The r of upper and' lower heads, .a rigid channel member having its endsrig'idly connected to the heads, a transparent tube extending from one head to the other and protected at 7 its back by said channel .member, supporting means projecting laterally-from the upper end of the channel member, and a'transparent frontguard for thetube resting upon said supporting means and held thereby from lateral displacement from the channel and. tube butrotatable thereon around the V LQGEORGECEBNIST;

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